This is it. The Allied invasion of Europe and the beginning of its attempt to wrest control of the war-torn continent from Hitler's Nazi regime and a faltering Italian southern front.

In part 16 of In Focus's 20-part photography series on World War 2, we see the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. These are images of war machines in action; of brave men dying in the fields of battle; of uncertain assaults whose scope and ferocity have yet to be recreated in modern times.